Learning Competencies for the BA in Food Systems, Nutrition, and Health

When you pursue a Food Systems, Nutrition, and Health (FSNH) degree at the University of Washington School of Public Health, you will gain a deep understanding of how food systems—including their environmental, economic, social, and other facets—affect our nutrition and health. The FSNH major is a STEM Bachelor of Arts major that offers graduates the knowledge, problem-solving skills, and leadership abilities to address the complex challenges and opportunities in food systems across diverse contexts and scales. Graduates will be trained in interdisciplinary and systems-based thinking, which can help them to excel in professions within and beyond food systems.

The core courses in the major provide a foundation in food systems and nutrition followed by exploration of the interactions within food systems using multiple methods, tools, and lenses, including policy, modeling, and community engaged scholarship. Building on this broad foundational coursework, a substantial array of upper division courses enables students to develop a depth of knowledge needed to work in food systems, or to advance food systems, nutrition, and health goals through work in a variety of sectors. Throughout the curriculum, students will apply food systems knowledge through various experiential learning activities, including developing practical and critical thinking skills in a culminating capstone experience aimed at solving real-world problems alongside a variety of partners.

Upon satisfactory completion of the BA in Food Systems, Nutrition, and Health, graduates will be able to:

• Describe and compare food systems across diverse contexts and scales, including their key components, challenges, and interconnections.
• Assess, critique, and reflect on the scientific evidence, lay literature, and data resources at the nexus of food systems, public health, and nutrition.
• Apply systems thinking and a public health approach to identify the beneficial and adverse effects of food systems characteristics across a spectrum of nutritional, population, and environmental health factors.
• Evaluate different approaches to food systems that protect and promote nutrition, health, environmental, social, and economic outcomes.
• Demonstrate effective project management, teamwork, analysis, and communication skills necessary to carry out interdisciplinary work in food systems.

Students will also meet the competencies for all School of Public Health degrees.